Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce The Big Apple, a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.

“When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost”

The following three lines were printed in 1882 and credited as “Motto on the walls of a school in Germany"”

When wealth is lost, nothing is lost;
When health is lost, something is lost;
When character is lost, all is lost!

The saying means that one’s character and one’s health are more important than one’s wealth. American Christian evangelist Billy Graham is frequently credited with the saying, but it was cited in print several decades before his birth (in 1918). “When honor is lost, all is lost” has been cited in print since at least 1828.

11 March 1828, City Gazette and Commercial Daily Advertiser (Charleston, SC), “Defence of the Administration,” pg. 2, col. 1:
“Among nations, as among individuals, when honor is lost, all is lost.”

Chronicling America
16 September 1882, Evening Bulletin (Maysville, KY), pg. 4, col. 1:
WHEN wealth is lost, nothing is lost;
When health is lost, something is lost;
When character is lost, all is lost!
-- Motto on the walls of a school in Germany.

26 May 1891, Sullivan (IN) Democrat, “Poverty Develops Character Better Than Riches” by Nelle Hanchett, pg. 1, col. 4:
If the boys and girls to-day would only learn that poverty in itself is no disgrace, and only becomes one when we refuse to exercise the talents which God has given us, if they would only remember that when wealth is lost nothing is lost, but when character is lost all is lost, how much better the world would be!

Google BooksThe Cyclopaedia of Practical Quotations
(Twelfth Edition)
By J. K. Hoyt and Anna L. Ward
New York, NY: Funk & Wagnalls Company
1894
Pg. 238:
When wealth is lost, nothing is lost;
When health is lost, something is lost;
When character is lost, all is lost!
Motto on the walls of a school in Germany.

Google News Archive
11 December 1927, Sarasota (FL) Herald, “Words Of The Wise,” sec. 2, pg. 4, col. 8:
When wealth is lost, nothing is lost;
When health is lost, something is lost;
When character is lost, all is .
— German Proverb.

Google BooksLeaders on Leadership:
Wisdom, Advice and Encouragement on the Art of Leading God’s People
Edited by George Barna
Ventura, CA: Regal Books
1997
Pg. 311:
When Wealth Is Lost, Nothing Is Lost;
When Health Is Lost, Something Is Lost;
When Character Is Lost, All Is Lost.
ANONYMOUS

Google BooksThe Crash of the Millennium:
Surviving the Coming Inflationary Depression
By Raveendra N. Batra
New York, NY: Harmony Books
1999
Pg. 206:
Not too long ago, we lived in the belief that if character is lost everything is lost, if health is lost something is lost, but if money is lost, nothing is lost. Today we think if character is lost, nothing is lost, if health is lost, something is lost, but if money is lost, everything is lost.

Google BooksThe Greatest Quotations of All-Time
By Anthony St Peter
Xlibris Corporation (Xlibris.com)
2010
Pg. 117:
When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost. Billy Graham

Daiji World (West Coast of India)
Monday, November 19, 2012 2:06:17 PM (IST)
Sharjah: Thumbay Moideen Invited as Chief Guest for Annual Day Program at Delhi Private School
(...)
In the end, Moideen spoke about the importance of moral conduct and character each child of has to grow up with. He read out the famous quote:“If Money is lost, nothing is lost; if Health is lost, something is lost; and if Character is lost, then everything is lost”.